


How Not to Impress the Girl of your Dreams in Two Easy Steps

by StrawhatsAndDelibirds



Series: Femslash February 2020 [13]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, Femslash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:55:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22733668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrawhatsAndDelibirds/pseuds/StrawhatsAndDelibirds
Summary: Horsing around is fun until you realise it's effort and hard and you don't want to do it
Relationships: Marianne von Edmund/Hilda Valentine Goneril
Series: Femslash February 2020 [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1620421
Kudos: 37





	How Not to Impress the Girl of your Dreams in Two Easy Steps

**Author's Note:**

> It's okay to fall behind in your writing because you're playing the new dlc of said game right?

She hadn’t entirely thought this through when she told the Professor she wanted to focus on horseback riding. Training was effort, sure, but it meant that she would be able to spend more time with Marianne. Though in the excitement of getting to spend more time with her, Hilda forgot something. And boy was it a big thing to forget. 

Fighting alongside one of these things was one thing, but that was different. Looking up at the horse made her feel even daintier and frail than she actually was. She barely knew her way around on axe while standing, how was she supposed to manage it while trying not to fall off a horse?!

Ugh, this was going to be so much work. Marianne was going to have a much easier time than she was. Healers didn’t have to worry about big lumbering weapons. If magic wasn’t so much more effort than it was to swing an axe around, she would’ve been training to be a holy knight with her. 

The horse snorted, already annoyed and they had barely even started. She wasn’t even sure how she was going to do this. It had been a long time since she rode a horse. It was on one of the horses her brother had, and they certainly didn’t have this much of an attitude towards her. It was a horse, what else did it have to do today besides run around? It should be glad that a tiny little thing like her was getting on its back, and not some big man like Raphael. 

“Just let me get on your back!” Most of the time she had done this she had her brother help her. Or someone around to help her. She didn’t exactly know how to get up on one herself.

The horse snorted again, making her want to get on the snotty thing even less. It was fine by her if it wanted to trot away like that. She didn’t want to ride it anyways. If it left and wouldn’t let her ride, then she didn’t have to worry about training. And if anything that was good news. She wouldn’t be all sweaty by the time Marianne came by and she wanted to keep it that way. 

“Oh, what are you doing out here, Hilda?” Marianne’s gentle voice chimed behind her. She was way better than some dumb horse. Though that being said, she was seated atop one. But it didn’t look like it had the same attitude as her horse did. So she’d be fine with that.

“Trying to learn how to fight on horseback.” 

“Don’t you need a horse to do that?” Marianne looked to where the horse should be, but that dumb horse was long gone. She had somehow managed to find the lazy horse. How bad was her luck that she found the Linhardt of horses. 

“Yeah, it’s around here somewhere. It’s not exactly going as planned.” Hilda already knew that the charade of being good at this and impressing Marianne wasn’t going to work. She’d have to rely on her other tactics. 

“I could help you out if you want. I’m sure Dorte wouldn’t mind helping you get some practice in.” The horse under her whinnied. “Well, if you want me to, of course.” 

It wasn’t fair that Marianne could so effortlessly charm her. Charming was supposed to be her thing and Marianne was doing it better than her. How was she supposed to win her affection at this rate? 

“You won’t mind if I’m not very good?” Because while she was trying very hard to be cute about it, it was undeniable that she was very bad at this. So far she hadn’t even managed to get on the horse. 

“I don’t mind. I’m sure you’ll do a lot better than me.” Oh no, she already had such high expectations for her. There was no way that she was going to meet those. She might’ve basically been a princess, but Marianne was the one who was like those princess stories from when you’re a kid. The ones where the animals all come and put flowers in your hair and mice brush it. There was no way that she could manage to be as beloved by animals as she was. The closest Hilda got were men, and that would not help her here. 

“So what do I do first?” She was just going to ignore the misplaced faith. It couldn’t hurt her if she didn’t acknowledge it. 

As if it were the easiest thing in the world, Marianne effortlessly dismounted her horse. Unlike her own, Marianne’s horse stayed put. 

“Well, first you should get comfortable on a horse. Dorte’s very kind and I’m sure she’ll be as patient with you as she has been for me.” Marianne stepped to the side to give her space to get on. 

Then there was an awkward pause as she looked at her with expecting eyes with a gaze that cut her deep. Marianne already knew what kind of person she was. Saying the truth was only going to make it seem like she’s crying wolf. And for once she actually wasn’t. But this late in the game there was no way that Marianne was going to believe that. 

“I don’t actually know how to get on a horse.” But she couldn’t just lie to her. It was Marianne. 

“Oh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just assumed.” This was why she didn’t want to do things. Even if she let down someone a little, it made her feel so bad. It was bad enough letting Holst down, letting Marianne down was a torture all of it’s own. It wasn’t fair. “The easiest way is to go by the stirrups. You put one foot in and it’s a little like stepping up a ladder.”

And as effortlessly as she got off, she got back onto her horse. Hilda really hoped that she didn’t think that she was going to do it as easy as that. Because there was absolutely no way she could. 

Marianne came back down once she showed her, and she stepped back. She gave her a small encouraging smile that she really wished she wouldn’t. Her faith was misplaced because there was no way that she could do it anywhere near that easily. 

But she had to do it for Marianne. Maybe she could impress her a little by doing it kinda okay. Like not as good as her, but good for a beginner. Yeah, that was something she could manage. 

It did nothing to kill her nerves though. But this was nothing, it was two big steps. Just like a ladder. A ladder that was breathing, moving, and in general didn’t like her. So nothing to worry about. 

She took a deep breath in. It was only going to get worse the longer she waited. She was just going to do this. How hard could it really be? 

The first step went fine. Her foot fit pretty nicely into the stirrup, and that was probably because that’s where it was supposed to go. She was still going to accept her victory. 

However everything after that sucked. She went to put her other foot on the other side, and her foot in the stirrup went all the way out behind her and absolutely destroyed her balance. She was lucky that the spot was pretty grassy, because she fell off the horse. If the bruises and grass stains weren’t going to be bad enough, her shoe was left in the stirrup. This spooked the horse so it ran off with her shoe and her hopes of having a not gross sock. 

“Hilda!” Marianne gasped, rushing over to her side. This probably wasn’t what she thought was going to happen. She completely ruined Marianne’s image of her in her head. The disappointment was going to hurt so much. 

Already she could feel the warmth as her wounds healed. At least she couldn’t have any ugly bruises to deal with. 

“I’m so sorry, I should’ve been a lot more clear. I forgot so many important things. I’m sorry I’m not a good teacher.” Marianne apologized, like this was in anyway her fault. Hilda was the one who thought she could just ride a horse like it was nothing. 

“I think even the Professor would have a hard time teaching me.” She’d brush off what she could. The horse trotted back with her shoe still hanging from it’s saddle, like it was trying to mock her or something. “How about I go clean myself off, and then we can go have some tea.”

“Are you sure?” 

“Yeah, I think I’m all horsebacked out for now.” Or for a while. 


End file.
